The Other Side of the Mirror
by dLQ77
Summary: THANKS FOR THE TITLE, MAUREEN! Hey guys, It's my first IaHB fic, so be sure and read the author's note!! Basically, its a short story, and Catie gets upset about soemthing, and Jamie comforts her.


In A Heartbeat  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own these folks...wish I did, cuz I'd be rich (and happy with Jamie:)...but they belong to Disney, among others.  
  
A/N-Hey Guys! I have been reading the IaHB fics for a while, (thanks for whoever started the category, I think it was Darkchilde, who is the best writer ever invented in the history of man) but anyways, I thought I'd write some. This short story is kinda like...a sample, you could say, I suppose, of what my writing is about. I thought I'd write this story, and let you guys reveiw and tell me how I can make it better. Then I'll start a fic series thing! So read, and reveiw, and tell me what you like and don't like about it, so I can make a good fic, cuz there is no use posting a fic no one wants to read! Happy reading!  
  
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Catie's dark hair brushed her shoulders as she rushed down the hall, toward the front doors of the high school. School had just ended, and she needed to hurry home to watch her brother, or she may come home to a pile of ashes, seeing as how he was a little terror.  
  
"Catie, wait up!" Val called after her friend, waving her hand.  
  
Catie turned around long enough to say: "Sorry, Val, I gotta hurry home, my dad said I have to watch my brother...who is probably already home!"  
  
"Ok, I'll call you!" Val called, nodding her head, "Have fun!"  
  
"Yea, right." Catie smirked, turning on her heel, just in time to run into Luke, a popular football quarterback, making her books fall and scatter on the floor.  
  
He was a senior, and seemed to be adored by every girl in the school, including the teachers. Well, not every girl. Caitie had never seen what the big deal was.  
  
"Watch out, loser," Luke remarked coldly, sneering down at Catie, not bothering to help her pick up her books. "You should be more careful."  
  
Catie's cheeks gradually turned from a fleshy pink to a deep red, as she mumbled under her breath, telling herself to just walk away. She gathered her last book in her arms, and stood up, heading for the door, avoiding Luke's stare.  
  
"I bet your whole family is a bunch of loser, you freak...it's a wonder why Val Lanier hangs with you."  
  
The words fell on Catie like a load of bricks, stopping her dead in her tracks. her face fell into a frown and her eyes narrowed. She dropped her books on the floor, and turned around to face Luke. She walked strait up to him, and looked up into his eyes. She raised a stern finger, and opened her mouth to speak.  
  
"You know, It's funny how you say I'm so different, yet you think you know me. ...You don't. Nor do you know my family, so don't ever speak to me like that again," Catie lectured.  
  
"Whatever" Luke retorted, backing away. It was obvious he wanted to make a comeback, as he groped for words in vain. The only thing that sprung into his mind was to insult her.  
  
"I'm glad, too, that I don't know you. It would ruin my reputation," he said cruelly, and turned and walked away calmly, grinning.  
  
Catie picked up her books, and solemnly walked out the high school doors. She walked home slowly, with her head bowed. She looked at the gray, newly paved sidewalk as her feet passed over it. Even her feet seemed to walk a little slower, and sadder. She felt almost ashamed that she was herself, and she wasn't used to that feeling. No one had ever confronted her like that before. "Who says HE isn't the freak?" Catie thought out loud, trying in vain to comfort herself. She looked up at her house, as she turned off the sidewalk onto her driveway.   
  
She trudged up the driveway and walked into the front door, letting it close behind her. She dropped her bag and books in front of the coat rack, and slipped off her shoes. "Hey Will, where are you?" She called, hoping he was content doing what he was doing.  
  
"I'm in here, Catie, watching TV!" Her little brother called back, from their parents room.  
  
"Ok, stay there, don't burn the house down, I'm going to go lay down in my room."  
  
"All right!" William called back, in a monotone manner, due to his distraction toward the TV.   
  
Catie picked up her books, and brought them to her room, where she once again let them fall to the floor, and she leaned back, and fell into her bed, flopping like she was asleep in mid-air. She couldn't believe she was so upset about Luke. He was a jerk, and she knew it, yet she let him get to her. The doorbell interrupted her reflections, but she head William running through the house to get it. (He sounded like a herd of elephants.) Knowing that was taken care of, she rolled over onto her stomach, and closed her eyes.  
  
  
Meanwhile, at the door, William was inviting Jamie Waite inside. Jamie had been walking around the neighborhood (he lived two blocks away from Catie, so he saw her often.) He decided to drop by and see how her day was. The two had become very close during the past few months, since his family moved so close to her, and he was loving every second of it. She always seemed to understand him, when no one else did.  
  
"Come in, Jamie, Catie is back in her room." Will said, hurrying to get back to his TV show.  
  
"Thanks," Jamie replied, stepping inside the door. "I'll just go on back."  
  
Jamie walked down the narrow hall, looking at the frames and mirrors that adorned the walls. There were several pictures of Catie and Will, and one or two of the whole family, which consisted of Catie, Will, and their mother and father. Their mother had just gotten a new job, so she was gone a lot on business, but their father ran a restaurant, so he was always around town. He came to Catie's door at the end of the long corridor, and knocked.  
  
"Who is it?" Catie asked, her voice cracking. She had held in the tears the whole walk home, but when she tried to talk while she was thinking about it, she couldn't help it.  
  
Jamie noted the sadness in her voice and was immediately concerned. "Are you Ok, Catie? What's wrong?" He shifted his weight nervously, hoping it wasn't anything serious.  
  
"Nothing, Jamie, you can come in, if you want" Catie's voice was low, due to the muffling of her pillow, and the closed door.  
  
"Ok." Jamie eased open he door, to see Catie starting to sit up, mascara under her eyes. He noted her wet lashes, though there was no other apparent sign that she had been crying. He walked over to her bed, and sat beside her, placing his hands on his knees. He turned his head toward her, and sighed. "What happened, Cait?"  
  
"Nothing, a that football player, Luke, was just giving me a hard time." She replied, her voice slightly cracking, but trying hard to keep it to a minimum. "It made me think."  
  
"About what?" Jamie asked, searching her brown eyes.  
  
"I dunno, It's stupid." Catie said, leaving his eyes, and looking at her hands.  
  
Jamie scooted closer to her, and put an arm around her. He felt an awkward, but good feeling, when he touched her, like when you first learn how to ride a bike. It gives you a rush, but it's new, and scary. He wasn't sure if she would pull away, and was relieved when she didn't. She leaned into him, and buried her face in his chest, and started crying.  
  
"I know I'm being ridiculous, but I never realized how people see me. I always assumed that people thought I was different, but accepted me anyway. Today was my first slap with reality. I just realized how embarrassed Val and Tyler and Hank must be when I hang around them. They are probably always thinking of ways to get rid of me. I wonder if the people in my classes think I'm weird, like the ones I talk to and stuff. And people on the street, I wonder what they think of me," Catie poured her heart out, almost forgetting Jamie was there, but when her crying slowed down, she opened her eyes to see Jamie's leather jacket, and felt his arms tightly bound around her. She almost pulled away, to see his face, and hear what he had to say, but she could feel what he was saying in his arms. The way he cradled her, it was like her was telling her It would be ok. She finally pulled away from the warm embrace, and looked Jamie in the eye. Jamie lifted his hand gently to her eyes, and wiped away her tears, his eyes never leaving hers.  
  
"Catie, Luke is one person. Val, and Hank and Tyler all like having you around, they dont care who you are...they like who you are."  
  
"Thanks, Jamie." Caitie said quietly, a smile pulling at her lips. "Thanks for being here." 


End file.
